BXG - 106

◎Old Dreams◎

On the day of Bai Shating and Ye Liuchun’s wedding.

After Gao Yunyue left with her maidservant, Ye Liuchun spoke those words—”The prodigal son may return, but his heart never dies”—and Qu You fell silent for a moment.

She didn’t know what had transpired between Ye Liuchun and Bai Shating, only catching glimpses of their tangled emotions through a few sorrowful and tender verses. Though mended mirrors rarely reflect the same light, she remembered the CON that always hung from Ye Liuchun’s moon lute, a testament to the chaos of their feelings—something outsiders could not easily untangle.

The laughter of arriving guests echoed from the front courtyard. Qu You reached for a box of plum-scented powder on the table, opened it, and took a sniff, changing the subject: “I heard the Princess of Shouyang’s plum fragrance was long lost. I’ve wanted to ask you since we first met—where did you get this?”

Ye Liuchun dipped her fingertip into the powder and dabbed it on her face, glancing at her reflection in the bronze mirror with a smile. “Of course, I made it myself. I’ve always been skilled at crafting fragrances. I stumbled upon a damaged recipe in an ancient text and spent ages restoring it. If you like it, I’ll give you some.”

Qu You readily agreed. “Alright, then thank you in advance, Sister Chun.”

Ye Liuchun chuckled at her response. “You...”

Just as she spoke, her smile suddenly stiffened. Seeing Ye Liuchun lost in thought, Qu You called out softly, “Sister Chun?”

“I just remembered something,” Ye Liuchun said, closing the box of scented powder in Qu You’s hand. “Do you know, before the deposed Crown Prince entered the palace, there was a trusted advisor he relied on heavily?”

Qu You thought for a moment, frowning. “I vaguely remember this person. Song Shiyan seemed to favor him greatly.”

Ye Liuchun asked, “Have you ever seen him?”

Qu You shook her head.

“Neither have I,” Ye Liuchun continued. “Once, I went to the deposed Crown Prince’s study on my own and nearly ran into this person. When he saw me enter, he immediately hid behind a screen... The deposed Crown Prince later seemed not to have brought this person into the palace. When the Crown Prince died, we likely hadn’t seen him either. Just now, as I handled the scented powder box, I suddenly recalled that day—I smelled the scent of medicinal herbs through the screen.”

Qu You frowned, repeating, “Medicinal herbs?”

Ye Liuchun pressed her hand to her forehead. “I haven’t used plum fragrance in so long. If you hadn’t asked just now, I might have forgotten entirely.”

“If you hadn’t mentioned it, I wouldn’t have remembered the deposed Crown Prince’s advisor either. He had dozens of advisors, but this one was his most trusted,” Qu You placed the box of scented powder back on the table. “I’ll look into this person’s whereabouts.”

“Good.”

________________________________________

Inside the dimly lit chamber, incense smoke swirled lazily. The Empress had left her quarters some time ago. After issuing a few commands, Emperor Song Shixuan retreated behind the curtains, silent. Luo Jiangting lounged on a chaise near the flower-decorated window, dismissing the attendants. She had intended to stay alert and serve, but inexplicably, she drifted off to sleep.

Her dreams were strange and surreal.

At times, she found herself in a frozen backyard, kneeling in the snow, watching a young girl washing clothes. The girl’s hands were red from the cold, and half the water in the basin had already frozen. After trembling for a while, the girl collapsed from the cold and was dragged away.

Other times, she was in the fragrant, wine-soaked halls of Luoqi Pavilion, where she was slapped so hard she nearly fell from the second floor. The girls passing by laughed and paid her no mind. Eventually, she picked herself up and returned to her dark, gloomy room.

In her room lived a madwoman of foreign descent, rumored to have been found insane when brought in. Fortunately, her madness wasn’t severe, and she was beautiful. No one else wanted to share a room with a lunatic, so Luo Jiangting endured her ramblings with closed eyes.

Until one day, a man with an indistinct face entered her pitch-black room.

By then, she had been ill for a long time, able to smell the stench of her own decaying body. Even the madwoman had been moved out of the room; all she could do was lie there, waiting to die.

The man carried the faint scent of medicinal herbs—bitter, yet soothing.

His fingers were slender and icy as they brushed gently against her cheek. Then she felt a piece of candy being placed in her mouth.

He whispered softly, “You must live.”

The medicine-laced wine was as black as the unlit room, but she drank it willingly, bowl after bowl, allowing his fingers to reshape her into someone utterly unfamiliar.

On a snowy night, she stopped a carriage and watched as the young man inside changed his expression upon seeing her. He removed his warm cloak and wrapped it tightly around her. Much later, after entering the imperial city in a daze, she opened her palm and found he had slipped her another piece of candy.

“Your Highness...”

Suddenly, there was a soft knock at the palace door. Luo Jiangting woke from her dream, dragging her silk sash as she opened the door.

The cold, metallic scent of iron armor hit her face. A guard knelt three steps from the palace entrance, urgently reporting, “An urgent message for His Majesty!”

She guessed the messenger’s purpose and didn’t stop him as she usually would. But just as she turned around, she saw Song Shixuan already on his feet, coughing as he draped a cloak over her shoulders.

“Cough… What is it, Lin Wei?”

The attendants bowed and withdrew. Lin Wei stepped forward and whispered, “Your Majesty, Lady Zhou—Madam of the former Chancellor—was abducted on her way home. Because you are unwell, he couldn’t deliver the message to the palace directly, so he…”

Cold sweat dripped from Lin Wei’s brow, but Song Shixuan remained calm, though his grip on Luo Jiangting’s shoulder unconsciously tightened. “Go on.”

Lin Wei continued, “He privately sought out General Zhou Yan. It seems… it seems the young general didn’t think much about it and immediately led a squad of personal guards to accompany Lord Zhou out of the city to search for her.”

Luo Jiangting gasped, turning her head. “How could the young general deploy his men for the use of a former chancellor? Without an official order or imperial authority, isn’t this…”

She trailed off, observing Song Shixuan’s expression. His brows furrowed slightly, then quickly smoothed out again.

Song Shixuan’s face remained impassive as he asked flatly, “Is that so?”

Stretching his neck, he prepared to leave. Luo Jiangting panicked, “Your Majesty, where are you going…?”

“The teacher has acted, so as his student, I must personally inquire,” Song Shixuan said coldly. Turning to her, his gaze softened with affection. “A’Luo, you’re family. Come along.”

Her heart swelled with sweetness—it was clear Song Shixuan intended to humiliate Zhou Tan by bringing her along. Zhou Tan had always looked down on her, but now Song Shixuan’s decision to include her was a deliberate snub.

With a slight bow, she lowered her eyes and replied, “Yes.”

________________________________________

Qu You frowned as she recalled her conversation with Ye Liuchun. Bai Ying laughed. “The scent of medicinal herbs makes you suspect me?”

“No,” Qu You murmured, her voice hoarse, perhaps from the earlier knockout drug. “Zhou Tan and I investigated the whereabouts of Song Shiyan’s advisor but found nothing. We only know he gained the Crown Prince’s trust early on and roamed Bianjing’s streets gathering information. After Song Shiyan seized power, he claimed he still had matters to settle in the mansion and didn’t follow him into the palace. By the time I was imprisoned, I’d lost contact. Lately, he likely hasn’t been in the palace either.”

Bai Ying unusually stayed quiet.

“Shisan once drunkenly mentioned he was close friends with you in his youth. Before fifteen, you left the Bai family and came alone to Bianjing. Afterward, you exchanged only a few letters, saying you’d found a master skilled in medicine. Gradually, even those letters stopped. Six or seven years later, Shisan came to Bianjing looking for you but couldn’t find you. So he took exams and wrote poetry, gaining fame.” Qu You reminisced dreamily. “If you needed money, why didn’t you go to him?”

“He was just gallivanting in the pleasure districts—what money could he possibly have?” Bai Ying sneered. “I… simply dislike meeting old acquaintances and dredging up painful memories. It’s tedious and troublesome.”

But Qu You seemed not to hear him, muttering to herself in a daze. “No wonder… No wonder you avoided meeting nobles and officials. Even when I came to your door, you were so cautious you wouldn’t open it, despite seeing my brocade robe. After setting up the herbal shop, you disappeared daily. Yunyue clearly never told Li Yuanjun about the dietary restrictions, yet she somehow found you without fail… That chart of incompatible foods—you left it behind, and I passed it to her.”

Bai Ying responded, “You’ve already decided I’m no good. Naturally, the more you think about it, the more convinced you become.”

But Qu You asked, “Then why are you here?”

For a moment, Bai Ying was speechless. “I… I want to know that too. Why am I here…?”

“Today, Luo Jiangting sent people to abduct me. Isn’t it to pressure Zhou Tan into seeking help from Xiaoyan, forcing them to leave the city with troops?” Qu You chuckled softly. “As soon as they leave the city with soldiers—even if it’s just ten men—the Emperor’s paranoia will surely be aroused. At that point, this charge of treason will be firmly pinned on them.”

Bai Ying’s heart skipped a beat, but he showed no outward sign, remaining composed. “Why are you spouting nonsense? His Majesty trusts Xiaobai and Xiaoyan deeply. How could he…”

“You haven’t asked why I’m so certain it was Consort Ting who abducted me,” Qu You cut in sharply, staring into his eyes.

The room was pitch black, the wind howling outside the window. Qu You heard Bai Ying swallow almost imperceptibly.

Closing her eyes, she couldn’t bear to look at his flickering gaze in the darkness. “That day when Consort Ting stopped the Emperor’s carriage—you were on the carriage, weren’t you? From that moment, she meticulously worked to drive a wedge between the Emperor and my husband. That day, when I met you outside the eastern gate, a caged crane cannot fly free…”

At this, Bai Ying abruptly stood up. He took a few steps toward the door, then paused, his expression shadowy and unreadable. “You knew… you’d be captured here today?”

“When the case at Bian River broke out, the Emperor and my husband argued in the study. As he left, he encountered Xiaoyan and said, ‘Nowadays, only Zhuochou cares for me.’” Qu You spoke calmly. “Consort Ting then hatched a plan, deciding to exploit military authority. But how to make the Emperor believe it? The best way was to force Zhou Tan to seek Xiaoyan’s help for something—like rescuing me, taking troops out of the city.”

She smiled faintly. “To sow discord, attacking the heart is key. This move of yours was executed skillfully—it must have taken years of practice. You understood the Emperor’s suspicions and Zhou Tan’s nature. Though it was a risky gambit, with Zhou Tan and Xiaoyan both entrenched in court, you couldn’t act until now.”

A flash of lightning illuminated Bai Ying’s pale face through the small window. He lowered his head, speaking slowly after a long pause. “That day in the courtroom, the dispute in the hall, the words in the study… it was all orchestrated by you.”

Qu You didn’t answer.

Bai Ying continued, “You asked why I’m here. Is there… some reason I shouldn’t be here? That’s why, the moment you saw me, you realized everything.”

“Hahaha…” Qu You laughed lowly, her laughter tinged with pain and mockery. “First, if I were Consort Ting, I’d never involve a trusted imperial physician like you—it’s counterproductive. With knockout drugs, abandoning you halfway would be better than dragging you along. Wouldn’t that give Zhou Tan an excuse to borrow troops? And second—”

“What about the second?”

“The second is a lie.”

“What?” Bai Ying froze.

Qu You explained, “I wasn’t sure, so I bluffed you. Look, didn’t you just admit it?”

“Hah,” Bai Ying pointed at her, wanting to say something but stopping himself. Stumbling back a few steps, he joined her laughter. “Hahaha… Youyou, after all these years, you haven’t changed a bit.”

Qu You felt her hands trembling. She gripped her wrist with her other hand, struggling to steady her breathing. When she spoke again, her voice trembled. “So… when did you become the eleventh son of the Bai family?”